


Tomorrow We Sail

by sleeplessinaltissia



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gladio with braids, M/M, and making sure he has a good time, ft. an actual hug, sorta - Freeform, the bros looking after Noctis, they deserve better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 04:09:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13310115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeplessinaltissia/pseuds/sleeplessinaltissia
Summary: There’s no use mourning something he never had - Astrals know he has enough to mourn that he's actually lost. And besides, he concedes, watching as Prompto runs to catch up to Gladio only for Gladio to pick up his pace and laugh - his own kind of normal isn’t so bad. They make sure of that.Or, the boys look out for Noctis on a quiet night.





	Tomorrow We Sail

**Author's Note:**

  * For [singtome](https://archiveofourown.org/users/singtome/gifts).



> This is a gift to singtome for not letting me be lazy and leave in the memes. There is a time and a place lol.

They arrive at Cape Caem with a strong coastal wind. Noctis grips his hair in a fist and holds onto the car with his other hand, feeling himself being pushed in one direction, and then with the gentle curve of the road, pulled in another. He takes a deep breath, appreciates the salt-laden sting of it before it catches in his throat with a sharp gust of wind and a gasped “Woah!” as he slides a little too close to the edge.

Gladio’s hand wraps around his ankle and Noctis grunts, shuffles down from the hood onto the leather until he’s firmly seated in the back seat.

“Seatbelt,” Ignis instructs, watching him from the mirror as the car roof unfolds over their heads. Noctis rolls his eyes and buckles in.

Prompto turns in his seat, elbow wedged into the center console. “Wouldn’t want to lose you, buddy!” He says, with a mock-serious expression, as the roof seals shut, muffling the worst of the wind’s howl.

“It would be a crying shame,” Ignis supports.

“I wouldn’t hop out after you if you fell out of the car,” Gladio adds, contrary, without looking away from his book.

Noctis raises an eyebrow. “Is this your resignation as my Shield?”

“Not my job to shield you from your own stupidity.” 

“Oof,” Prompto mock-winces, “he’s got you there.”

Noctis crosses his arms and looks out the window. He’s never taken the time to truly appreciate the hypnotising beauty of the cliff-face as they drive past it. That’s a shame.

“Aw, don’t be that way,” Prompto says, poking his knee. “You know we love you!”

“Just not enough to throw ourselves out of a moving car,” Gladio continues, turning a page slowly. 

“Then it is a good thing that we will be arriving shortly,” Ignis sighs from the driver’s seat. 

Noctis makes a non-committal, relieved noise, folds his arms behind his head in a long stretch. He settles back into his seat and closes his eyes. The whistle of the wind outside drowns out Prompto’s enthusiastic voice and Gladio’s deep, slow reply. With his cheek pressed up against the back seat, Noctis can hear the wind reverberating through the car, too.

It’s nearly enough to lull him to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Time passess quietly once they finally alight from the car. The vendors parked along Cape Caem’s outskirt are already packing up, boxes of fruit and vegetables and curatives being stacked up into neat piles with rhythmic, wooden thuds. Ignis is quiet, his usual remark about needing to stock up on curatives absent. They have plenty, and besides, it’s too late to be bothering anyone without risking their safe travel home. Gladio grabs their things from the trunk as Noctis watches the vendors slowly but efficiently pack up the rest of their produce before sharing a smile and hopping in their cars. Two engines rumble and with a practiced ease the cars drive off, heading in opposite directions down the road. Normal people leading normal lives in this quiet town, surrounded by the sea.

“You okay there buddy?” Prompto says from his side. Noctis turns. Prompto is looking at him with furrowed eyebrows and a smile that keeps getting smaller, like it was much bigger at one point but is waning with time.

Noctis flexes his right hand. “Yeah. Just spaced out.”

Prompto’s eyes flick down to his hand and back up to his face. His smile grows wider, but it doesn’t reach his eyes anymore. “It’s gonna be good to see Iris and Talcott again!”

“Yeah,” Noctis repeats, with a little more feeling this time.

“I wonder if they missed us?” Prompto says, looking out to the direction of the house, visible only in snatches beyond the trees. “I mean, I’m sure they’re busy, with the lookouts and the farm and all.”

“Less talking, more walking,” Gladio says from right behind them, making Prompto jump. Gladio shoves a bag into Prompto’s chest and another into Noctis’. 

“No fair,” Prompto grouches, hefting the bag in his arms. “Why doesn’t Ignis have to carry anything?”

“I drove us here,” Ignis replies, walking past them.

“Come on,” Gladio instructs, nudging them from behind. “The sooner we get up this hill the sooner we eat dinner.”

“That’s more like it,” Noctis replies, and follows Ignis up the long trail, leaving the momentary melancholy behind him. There’s no use mourning something he never had - Astrals knows he has enough to mourn that he has actually lost. And besides, he concedes, watching as Prompto runs to catch up to Gladio only for Gladio to pick up his pace and laugh - his own kind of normal isn’t so bad. They make sure of that.

 

* * *

 

“Here,” Noctis says, reaching into his bag for the small figurine wrapped in newspaper, “I have something for you.”

“For me?” Talcott blinks, confused. His hands twitch where they’re folded on top of the dining table. 

Noctis doesn’t reply. He finds the figurine blindly, pulling it out of the bag and giving the newspaper wrapping a once-over before handing it to Talcott. Talcott reaches out for it instinctively, holding it in both hands. He glances down at it and back up to Noctis. 

“Well go on,” Gladio encourages from where he’s sitting at the opposite end of the dining table, leaning towards Iris as she braids a small section of his hair. “Open it.”

Talcott gives a slight nod before unwrapping the newspaper slowly, unfurling it rather than ripping into it. With one last tug the present rolls out of the wrapping and into his palm. Even looking down, Noctis can see his eyes light up. “A cactuar figurine!” He exclaims, holding it up to the light. “This is so cool! Thank you, Prince Noctis!” 

“Just Noct is fine,” Noctis mumbles automatically. 

Talcott looks away from the figurine and up to him. His brown eyes shine in the warm yellow light, which makes it easy to see how they begin to water. “Thank you, Noct.” And then his small arms wrap around Noctis’ waist and the figurine is pressed into the small of his back and, okay. This is a hug. Noctis looks at Ignis, startled. Ignis smiles back, completely unhelpfully. Noctis eventually lays his hand on top of Talcott’s head, and when Talcott sniffles, he starts combing through his hair like he remembers his father doing to him.

“Do you have anything for me, Noct?” Iris calls out from behind Gladio’s bulking frame. 

Noctis looks up from where his fingers are hidden in Talcott’s hair. “Uh.”

“I just brought you a choker all the way from Lestallum, you ungrateful little gremlin,” Gladio grouches. He hisses as Iris tugs on his hair. “Hey! I can take it back.”

“It’s different when it comes from  _ Prince Noctis _ ,” Iris insists, leaning to the side to pout at Noctis from over Gladio’s shoulder. Gladio glares at Noctis. Noctis raises his hands in an attempt to placate both Amiticita’s.

“I’ll bring you something next time,” Noctis promises. Iris beams. Gladio’s glare intensifies. Oh well.

The bathroom door opens with a creak and a billow of steam. “Who’s next?” Prompto asks, emerging with the day’s clothes bundled under one arm, replaced by his pajamas and a towel around his head. The sleep shirt damply clings to Prompto’s chest. Noctis averts his eyes.

“Me!” Iris exclaims, tying off her third braid with a small hair elastic. She cranes her neck to press a kiss to Gladio’s cheek. “Thanks for the present, Gladdy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gladio grumbles, waving her off. She hurries into her room to grab her things. 

Prompto looks significantly at Talcott, still wrapped around Noctis’ waist. “Anything I miss?”

“Look at what Prince Noctis got me!” Talcott exclaims, seemingly recovered, unwinding himself from Noctis to brandish the figurine in Prompto’s direction. Prompto crouches down and coos, running a slender finger over the toy, and it makes Noctis’ heart lurch, the way that Prompto matches Talcott’s enthusiasm with soft words and a bright smile. 

Ignis, talking quietly with Monica in the kitchen, glances over at the scene and smiles. Noctis smiles back. He hadn’t realised how he was feeling, like his chest was caving in under the weight of everything, until it went away. Now he feels warm, free to take a deep breath. He continues feeling like that as Iris walks by to the bathroom and makes Gladio promise not to take the braids out while she’s not looking . As he starts a game of King’s Knight with Prompto and Gladio, and loses. As Gladio fingers one of the braids in his hair gently, examining it in the mirror on the wall. As the night settles in and the only thing that he can hear from outside is the howling wind. As they all make their way upstairs for the night, to sleep in the same room, even though they don’t need to. As Prompto takes the bed next to his and faces him in the dark after everyone else has closed their eyes, like they’re the only two people in the world.

This is his. Whatever else - whatever happens. These moments are his until the end.

**Author's Note:**

> help i wanted to make myself smile but then i made myself sad h e l p


End file.
